Dissention
by Mis Speller
Summary: Courage is what you feel when you have nothing and everything to lose.


**Dissention  
**

* * *

She laughed, revelling in the feel of power as the two young Aurors struggled to remain in a defensive stance inside the hallway. The woman was good, Bellatrix thought. She had excellent aim and was creative in her use of spells. She lacked experience though. Severely lacked it.

The man on the other hand was boring. Predictable.

She side stepped as he shot a blasting hex towards her. It hurled to her right, crashing against the concrete wall behind her and pulling out a good chunk of it. The shield charm she put up to protect herself from the shards was in place before the spell had made full impact. Two spells whizzed passed in succession to her left and she could feel the warmth of what she was sure was a stunning spell graze the hem of her robes. That was the woman.

Why Aurors would insist on fighting against Death Eaters with spells that any decent Third Year could pull of was beyond her.

"Avada Kedavra!" She hurled the jet of green light towards the woman. Her reaction was fast, transfiguring a chunk of concrete that was probably still warm from the blasting hex into a large couch.

It blasted into pieces and the woman rapidly rolled onto the ground, now safely behind a shield charm that she had put up while the couch had exploded.

She was really good.

"Retreat!" someone screeched from faraway.

Screams erupted and she remembered that she was not the only one fighting inside the building.

Time to stop playing and get rid of these two idiots.

Except that she didn't get a chance.

She watched with horror as dark red flames made its way through the long hallway they were in.

A spell similar to fyndfire. It was a lot less damaging but a great deal easier to control and spread over a large area. Her Lord had used it to flush out mudbloods and blood traitors during their raids.

And she did not know how to stop or even slow it down.

Her two seconds of hesitation were all the two Aurors needed to disappear. A portkey, she guessed. Not that it mattered. She could kill them another day. She instinctively shot a blasting hurl to the wall next to her, clambering through the gaping hall into another room.

Death Eaters, the ones who had been sent for the raid, and the ones who had like her, been summoned as impromptu reinforcements were rushing for an exit and she rushed through another hallway.

They were on the ground floor so the fire must have been unleashed through there.

Upstairs. That was where everyone was heading. That was where the Aurors would be waiting.

She needed to make an opening from a side, somewhere on the second or third floor.

Someone was hot on her heels, following her every move. She didn't slow down, instead throwing back another killing curse. It must have missed because the man swore loudly.

Lucius Malfoy. Figures. The prat probably just wanted to use her as a cover.

She zigzagged through the maze of corridors, stepping over several dead bodies and navigating through the debris strewn all over. There seemed to be no more battles, the Aurors and Order members had escaped to safety and the remaining Death Eaters were fleeing. The exits were all probably covered by Aurors. She intended to make a new one.

The stairs she found were a mess of missing steps and mangled bannisters. She took a sharp turn right, aware the Lucius was still following her.

They skidded into another long hallway and moved towards the dead end. An exit. Now.

"Bellatrix!"

She whirled, sneering at the sight of a couple of the muggle loving blood traitors. And Dumbledore.

That would certainly explain the fire.

She had never been one for pleasantries.

The black flames that erupted from her wand was the real deal and confined inside the narrow hallway, was rapidly doing some serious damage.

She felt the temperature skyrocket in an instant as the sidekicks moved back faster than she would have believed to be possible. Dumbledore stood his ground, retaliating with force.

She was hoping that Lucius would hurry up and take down the wall soon because this spell could spiral out of her control anytime.

And the black flames were devouring every surface it came into contact with.

Dumbledore was actually trying to gain control over the fiendfyre, and using the same to counterattack.

After what seemed like an eternity, the wall shuddered again, this time harder, the noise drowning into the roar of the dark flames.

"Let's go!" Lucius screamed.

He grabbed her shoulder, and she broke off the spell, the remaining streak of flame transforming into a panther and entwining with the raging dragon that Dumbledore had unleashed. Something dropped onto the ground.

The cup!

Her Lord has given it to her for safekeeping, instructing her to guard it with her life.

And she had been on her way to Gringotts when she had been summoned to reinforce their forces.

It was as if time had slowed down, the small cup landing on the cup and bouncing up a few inches under her feet as she jumped out, wand at the ready to cast a cushioning charm to soften their landing.

Dumbledore had directed the remaining flames through the opening they had jumped through, they could feel the intense heat above their heads all the way from the ground far below.

Dismay washed over with the realization that the cup would now be thoroughly incinerated.

Her Lord was going to be _very_ angry.

* * *

She curled up in a fetal position, hugging her knees to her chest. The motion sent a jolt off pain through her spine and she slowly straightened her legs again. Tremors shook her whole body, the waves of pain ebbing inside her.

How long had she been here? Hours? Days? Merlin, did it even matter anymore?

She placed a palm resolutely on the cold stone floor, aware that it had a deep gash that was now held closed by the blood that had dried what seemed only like a few breaths ago. Bracing for the pain, she pushed herself against the floor, her left palm involuntarily joining forces. The whimper sounded pitiful even to her own ears and she felt a rush of gratitude that she was alone. She wanted to hold onto her dignity - at least what little was left of it.

Her back protested as she leaned against the wall. A trembling hand reached out, gingerly touching the left side of her face. The skin felt raw but the burning sensation was nothing compared to the pain that she was feeling right now.

She must look quite a sight now. Half of her face burnt, the once purple gown ripped with deliberate slashes sporting an unidentifiable shade of red, matted with dried blood and sweat. Gashes covered every visible area of skin.

A loud crash alerted her to an intruder and a weak wave of adrenaline surged, prompting her to move. She scrambled for her wand that she was sure she had been holding onto when she had dragged herself inside the room.

Death Eaters? They would be looking for her, she knew. The Dark Lord would be looking for her, more furious than ever, especially after the sloppy job that Greyback and the Carrows had done of capturing her.

And she knew that the Dark Lord would find her. There was a part of her that wanted to go back, to beg him for forgiveness but then there was that other part, the more insistent one that was adamant that she should make better choices, that she shouldn't be so _pitiful_.

Salazar, please don't let them find her. It was too soon, she was in no condition to fight a group of eager and bloodthirsty Death Eaters.

"Bella?" a tentative voice called.

She paused, fumbling to place the owner of the voice, it was familiar and she knew him.

"Regulus?" he voice was barely audible.

This was wrong, the Dark Lord wouldn't send Regulus to hunt her down. He wasn't even in the Inner Circle and with a bit of luck, she could take him down even now.

She heard another crash and a yelp as her cousin clumsily made his way through the charmed furniture. It was a weak line of defense but she had been too drained to erect any wards when she had holed herself inside.

The door opened and she squinted against the light. It seemed that Regulus had lit every lamp and candle inside the living room.

"Bella?" he rushed, lowering himself down in front of her. She winced as he lifted her chin gently. The light filtering inside threw her jagged wounds into relief, the caked blood standing out darker than her jet black hair.

"Hey," she murmured weakly.

Regulus wouldn't kill her. He wouldn't.

"Bella," he swallowed. "Merlin, you look terrible."

She shifted. "The Carrows and Grayback," she whispered.

Since when did talking take so much effort?

"Are they dead?" Regulus stroked a hand against her head and she leaned back, the most relieved that she had felt in a long time.

"No. Grayback was..." she shuddered.

"They all escaped?" he asked. At her nod, he rubbed a hand through his own hair. "The Dark Lord is looking for you."

She looked at him, really looked at him.

His once handsome face had aged beyond its years and premature lines had etched themselves around his eyes and mouth. It hurt to look into his eyes. She could recall another time when they had been different, full of mischief and curiosity. Now it was all gone, replaced with apprehension and fear.

And it was her fault, wasn't it?

She had been the one who had convinced, even threatened him to join the Dark Lord, to live up to the name of the name of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black.

And look where it had got them.

"Reggie," she slipped into the childhood name that she hadn't used in years. "I'm so-" she struggled with her words. When was the last time she had apologized to Regulus? When was the last time she had apologized to anyone except the Dark Lord? It felt so foreign to her.

"Hush, its okay," he soothed. She knew that he understood. "We have to go, Bella."

She threw back her head, the mirthless laugh broken by a bout of dry cough.

"Run away? From the Dark Lord?" she finally managed.

She didn't even have the energy to sound incredulous.

Identical dark eyes met and her breath caught at the determination burning there. "We can do it. I have a plan. Trust me with this."

She made a move to stand up, resolving for the first time in her life, to do something entirely Gryffindorish.

"Where?"

Her voice sounded much stronger.

"Russia," he stood up, placing a strong hand around her hips and sidling to take the most of her weight.

"Russia," she echoed, her earlier resolve slipping away.

"We can stay with a friend," he told her.

"Who?" she pressed.

"Valerie," he replied.

"Who is Valerie?"

"A friend," he was starting to remind her of his elder brother with that stubborn look on his face.

"Please, not now Bella," he begged as she opened her mouth. "I'll explain later. Just trust me for now."

"I can't apparate," she winced with another jolt of pain.

"I'll take you," he said. He half walked, half dragged her out of the room. "We need to make contact with someone that she set up for us."

He looked at her and a ghost of a reassuring smile appeared. "You'll be safe. I promise."

* * *

After alternating between apparating and portkeying to at least ten different locations, they finally arrived in the midst of a clearing in a forest that was lightly covered with damp snow.

Bellatrix, feeling more drained than ever - they hadn't even stopped for a meal - sagged onto the ground in exhaustion while Regulus continued to stand, his wand drawn.

"Everything went alright?"

The accent was both foreign and exotic and they looked around to see the speaker, a slim woman approaching them serenely.

She was dressed in muggle clothing, a plain black shirt with the sleeves rolled to her elbows and tight pants that were made of some shiny material that Bellatrix couldn't recognize. Straight black hair was pulled up tightly and wound in a sleek ponytail. If it weren't for the wand in her left hand, she could have easily passed as a muggle.

"Valerie!" Regulus greeted her with a mixture of happiness and relief.

"Reggie," she placed a brief kiss on his lips and Bella raised a tired eyebrow.

Valerie laughed at her expression, the rich sound unexpectedly refreshing.

"Here," she bent down next to Bellatrix, "let me help you. The house is only a three minute walk away."

Regulus fell into step next to them. "That bastard took all the money I had left on me," he grumbled.

Valerie sighed. "But he got the job done, didn't he? I tried, but he was the only one I could find who was willing to do it."

It took Bellatrix a few seconds to process the heavy accent.

"I didn't mean it like that," Regulus looked at her apologetically.

"Of course not," she returned.

They had reached the edge of the forest and were now staring at a vast plain backed by snow covered mountains.

"It's over there," Valerie pointed towards an empty area, more to the benefit of Bellatrix.

"Hidden?"

"Yes."

"With what?" she pressed.

"Blood wards," Valerie said cheerfully.

Of course. What else had she been expecting?

Regulus moved behind to support his cousin as their hostess dropped onto her knees and slashed her palm to drip blood.

The ground beneath them hummed and it was like watching a painting shatter in front of them.

The haze cleared and Bellatrix was now staring at what she would aptly classify as a cottage fit only for peasants.

Valerie grabbed her hand. "Shall we?"

Bellatrix clutched onto the cup of scalding hot tea. Valerie had tried to get her into muggle clothes. She had been duly informed that the only way to make that happen was to kill her and pull the cloths over her dead body. The Russian woman had consoled herself with cladding Bellatrix with enough bandages to wrap a mummified corpse.

Reclining on the worn out but comfortable couch, she watched as the energetic woman bounced around the small room. In front of her, sprawled on a transfigured couch, Regulus was fast asleep.

"So," Valerie looked up from ripping a bag full of what looked like potatoes, "we have two rooms. I thought we could share."

"I wouldn't mind if you and Reggie –" Bellatrix spoke tersely.

She laughed. She did it so easily as if it was the simplest thing in the world. Bellatrix for the world couldn't ever remember laughing like that.

"No," she waved a hand. "It's not like that. We're just friends. At least, for now. It's," she glanced at the sleeping form of her cousin, "it's hard. With this war and everything. We don't really know each other that well."

"Oh," Bellatrix shifted uncomfortably. "So, this –" she couldn't bring herself to call it a house, "place belongs to your family?"

"Technically, it is mine now," Valerie turned to the stove, dumping the contents – they were potatoes – into a pan of boiling water. "You see, I was disowned when I was sixteen."

Trust Regulus to befriend someone who was a clone copy of his older brother.

"Oh," she repeated stupidly.

Valerie either didn't notice or she didn't care. "My parents and my family, they are great supporters of blood purity and later the Dark Lord from Britain. I am not. We argued all the time and Mother kept threatening to disown me. I didn't think that they actually would."

She turned sideways and at Bellatrix's look, casually shrugged. "I am the only daughter in the family. And I was grandfather's favorite."

She was having to take the help of a blood traitor. Wonderful.

Valerie gestured to the cottage. "This place belonged to my Aunt Alicia. She married my uncle Frederick – that's my father's little brother, and when she died, she left the place to him. He gave it to me with a small inheritance before he died last year. It's wasn't even on the will so they probably don't even know."

Bellatrix thought that it was highly impossible for a pureblood family to not notice that a property, small as it was, had not passed on to their hands properly.

"Anyway," she continued brightly, "I specialize in wards. I work with goblins now. It's easier, especially since they haven't chosen any sides in this war."

Valerie seemed to mull over her next words. "The Dark Lord is looking for you. Everyone knows, even all the way here. The rumors say that you betrayed him."

"I did not betray the Dark Lord!" Bellatrix cried.

"Then, what happened?" she asked, removing the pan and draining the water into a small sink.

Bellatrix hesitated. She didn't trust this girl. And she sure didn't feel safe inside this place.

"The Dark Lord gave me something to protect," she said carefully. "It got destroyed."

"Hmmm…must have been important, yes?"

"Very," Bellatrix replied evenly.

It was just a small cup and she had no idea at the time that it was valuable enough to make her fall out of grace with the Dark Lord after that incident. She had served faithfully, more faithfully than anyone else, hadn't he? It was just one small mistake but the Dark Lord…

She shivered. The room suddenly felt very cold.

"Come and eat," Valerie invited, dropping the topic. "Should we wake him up?"

"Yes," Bellatrix moved slowly. Her muscles throbbed with a dull pain and her joints felt stiff. "He must be hungry now. We did not stop to eat."

* * *

The Dark Lord had not forgotten her failure or her turning her back against him.

The first time the excruciating pain had ripped through her left hand, she had been beside herself with terror. Valerie had repeatedly assured her that the Dark Lord wouldn't find her here. The cottage was warded heavily and the few goblins who knew about it had been paid handsomely to keep quiet. And yes, she did trust the goblins she worked with.

Notwithstanding the long distance torture from the Dark Lord, staying holed up inside the cottage was fast becoming boring.

She had indicated as much to her hostess who had tried to help her curb the restlessness by bringing her a bunch of books.

Bellatrix had never been an eager reader but stuck in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country, boredom won over and she found herself reading about every conceivable topic in the world. The not so subtle book about easy magical household management made her scowl; Regulus preferred to stay out for days, prowling for 'information' while Valerie had to 'earn an honest living' as she declared grandly and that left her to do most of the work. Her generous hostess had blithely informed that she could not afford a house elf to do the cooking and the cleaning. And the washing. Bellatrix hated the washing.

It could have been worse. At least she got news about the war from Regulus whom the Dark Lord was strangely lenient with. No Dark Mark tortures for him except on about two occasions. Regulus claimed that he had not been important enough to begin with.

A few months ago, she would have been rather inclined to agree.

It seemed that the Dark Lord was slowly winning. No other magical government had entered the war yet but that wasn't stopping prominent magical families from taking sides, a lot of them with the advocator for pureblood supremacy. To the surprise of no one, the werewolves had joined forces with the Dark Lord. The French were apparently ecstatic with how things were progressing. Most of their magical population was comprised of pureblood families who had expressed their dissatisfaction with the 'infection' of muggleborns. Bellatrix had rolled her eyes when Regulus told her that the Swiss were doing what they always did best; staying neutral and granting asylums for the people who could afford it while hoarding gold and valuables for the families who feared for the security of their wealth.

All the while, the magical population was rapidly falling in numbers.

Bellatrix slowly began to realize what was wrong. Their war against the muggleborns was stabbing them in their back. At the rate they were going, more than half of them would be wiped out. And she was thinking about the purebloods who were fighting with the Dark Lord.

She still believed in blood purity, adamantly refused to see why they should welcome mudbloods who tainted the magical world with their non-magical upbringing. It should be the other way. They should be the ones bowing to the magical traditions, not the other way round.

But the Dark Lord's tactics were costing them a lot of valuable blood.

In the back of her mind, she ruefully admitted that maybe, just maybe, the Dark Lord was not the leader they needed.

* * *

RRR

Regulus pinched the bridge of his nose, craning his head backwards. "The Dark Lord is looking for the Longbottoms and Potters. Apparently, they have gone into hiding."

"A lot of people have gone into hiding," Valerie shrugged. She seemed to do that a lot. "Even here. And we're not even fighting in the war yet."

"No, but you lot are funding it," Bellatrix pointed out. Especially your family, she added silently.

"But the Dark Lord is specifically looking for them," Regulus tried to stress the point.

"They probably just pissed him off more than usual. They're good Aurors. That bitch married to your brother's best friend, she broke my arm during that raid on Hogsmeade."

Regulus looked confused. "Which one? That one when Crouch almost killed Avery?"

"Yes, that one." She grinned. "The Dark Lord wasn't pleased, was he?"

"Can't see how even he would enjoy his people killing each other by accident."

Valerie looked amused. "So where are they?" she asked.

"Like I would know. I still think that something is up. There are plenty of other Aurors who are much more threatening to the Dark Lord. Like Moody and Bones."

Bellatrix leaned forward, "What about me? Us? Are they looking for us?"

Regulus rolled his eyes. "Of course they are. There's a price on your head though I don't know how much. Some people are rather happy about you falling out of grace with the Dark Lord. Gives them more room to shine, I suppose."

Valerie seemed to be deep in thought. "I don't think that they would really look for you. Not right now, anyway. Maybe after the war is over?" Her tone was reassuring as if she thought that her guests were depressed that the Dark Lord was not using more resources to actively seek them out.

Salazar, this woman was dense.

"We should help them," Regulus said conversationally.

They both looked at him as if he had lost his sanity.

"The Dark Lord is not going to win," he said softly.

"But he is winning," Valerie spoke.

That, Bellatrix agreed with.

"He won't. I don't care anyway. I would rather die than live under his rule." He bowed his head. "I was thinking of leaving before. I even wrote to Sirius."

This was news to her.

"And what did he say?" she pried.

"He never replied," he shrugged and she caught hurt look in his eyes. "Anyway, the Dark Lord, he's insane. He wouldn't think twice about killing every single one of his supporters if it meant that he could gain more power."

It was rather hard to argue with that assessment. And she could see the merit in the idea of helping the other people. After all, they had nothing to lose, did they?

"Shouldn't be too difficult," she mused aloud, much to the delight of Regulus and alarm of Valerie. "We have money, although most if it is in Britain, and they probably believe that we're too busy moving and running. But I am _not_ joining forced with the blood traitors," she clarified. "We need to make sure that the Dark Lord does not win."

She was suddenly reminded of something. Or more accurately, of someone.

"Have you heard anything about Rodolphus?"

Her cousin snorted. "Last time I heard, he's still alive and kicking. Bet the Dark Lord tortured him when he couldn't find you."

Her blood boiled. The stupid pig probably did not even care that she was stuck in bloody Russia, doing her own bloody cooking and cleaning like some kind of muggle. Just wait until she got her hands on that bastard.

She clenched her teeth. Rodolphus was her problem, she would deal with him on her own. There were more important matters at hand. "So why don't you find out more about why the Dark Lord is looking for the Longbottoms and Potters? I'll think of places that they could be hiding."

"They could be anywhere," Regulus frowned.

"Knowing Dumbledore, and we know that he would be helping them, it would be a place that belongs to him or one of the Gryffindor families. It would be probably in Britain too. The old coot is too attached to the blood traitors so he would keep them somewhere close to him."

"It probably isn't a big place like a family mansion," Valerie contributed. "Smaller places are easier to ward and hide and more difficult to locate."

They planned and plotted until Regulus finally announced that he wanted to go to bed. He would leave early in the morning to look for more news while trying to stay alive during the process.

* * *

Bellatrix bit her lips, the names on the list blurring in front of her. She had been working at this for days, racking her brain for the names of the properties that she had heard of that belonged to the Dumbledores, Potters and Longbottoms.

So far, the list had close to ten places. From what her Aunt Walburga had told her, the Potters had once been notoriously wealthy, they probably still were. They had several places dotted all over Britain. Charles Potter and his wife Dorea nee Black Potter had loved to throw grand parties and show off their houses so she had heard plenty about them.

The Longbottoms mostly kept to themselves and hence, she did not know much about them. They had only two places that she knew of and they were both mansions.

She had always been of the opinion that Albus Dumbledore was a Slytherin in disguise and she suspected that he had a lot more than he let on.

The problem was that it was not the mansions that she was looking for. And no respecting pureblood family would ever throw parties or invite guests to small cottages like the one she was currently residing in.

So all in all, the chances were high that the places she was looking for were nowhere on her list.

She sighed and threw down the quill. This was not going to be easy. And if even the Dark Lord was having trouble finding them...

Getting up, she stretched out languidly. It was time to take a nap.

* * *

The nap was nice, she thought; being wakened up violently by her frantic cousin was not.

"Wake up!" Regulus shook her by her shoulders.

"What the –" she grabbed her wand.

"You don't need that. I found out something!"

She was immediately all ears.

He was almost hopping from foot to foot while Valerie stood beside him, a little startled at his behavior.

"There is a prophecy about someone who can defeat the Dark Lord. That's why he's looking for them!"

Her brain went into overdrive as Valerie's mouth dropped open.

"So, Frank Longbottom or James Potter?" she frowned. She found it hard to believe. They were good, but not that good. At least not when compared to the Dark Lord. Hell, she could take on both of them at once.

"No, no. Their sons. One of them, at least. No one is sure which one. They should be around four months old now. Born in July," Regulus added to her confusion.

"A baby is going to defeat You-Know-Who?" Valerie asked with disbelief. She never referred to him as the Dark Lord.

"Well, the Dark Lord is obviously trying to kill him before he can grow up, right?" Bellatrix got up, pacing around the small space.

"We need to find out where they are soon…and…" she threw up her hands. "And do what, Reggie? I mean, I am good but not good enough to take down the Dark Lord. And the Dark Lord will find them."

"We should go to Dumbledore," Regulus started the topic that they had discussed and bickered over. The arguments had become increasingly frequent lately.

"I am not going to side with that manipulative old coot!" she screamed.

Valerie scrambled to take cover behind Regulus who for his credit, stood his ground.

"Bella, there are no other sides," he argued calmly.

She didn't bloody care. She didn't trust him.

"Yes, but -" Valerie spoke tentatively, "if the prophecy is right, there will be another side if the baby grows up safely."

"Like the Dark Lord would let that happen," Bellatrix snorted.

"Seeing as how the baby will be either be a Longbottom or the Potter one, it will still be Dumbledore's side," Regulus muttered.

She conceded that he had a point.

"How did you find out about this prophecy?"

"Peter Pettigrew. Ran into him in Knockturn Alley. I pretended to fish for information to do more in the war," he grinned at the puzzled faces. "I was also pretending to be Lucius Malfoy."

"Pettigrew would know where they are. He's friends with James Potter, isn't he?"

"He doesn't know. Not yet anyway."

"I think we're doing this wrong," Valerie sat down and crossed her legs.

Bellatrix almost snorted at the 'we'.

"It's just the three of us. There are a lot of them, on both sides. We can't and we don't have to look for where the prophesized child is being hidden."

They stared at her.

"You-Know-Who has his people looking for them, right?"

They nodded.

"Then, we follow them. Tell me, now that you're no longer his most trusted, who would he send for an important task like this?"

She thought fast. "The Carrows. They share one brain between them but they are good at what they do."

"Anyone else?"

"Crouch is young but dedicated. Not a bad fighter though. There is Lucius too."

Valerie nodded. "We should keep an eye on them."

"We are stuck in bloody Russia, if you hadn't noticed," Bellatrix complained, unaware of how ungrateful she sounded.

"We should go back to Britain," Regulus ran a hand through his hair. "The fact that Pettigew is alive means that Sirius and his lot don't know that he has betrayed them. And he might find out where they are hiding soon and then the Dark Lord would know."

Bellatrix ginned. Maybe she would get to fight again soon. And if she ran into the Carrows… well, they were going to die. Slowly and painfully.

And Rodolphus. Merlin, why did she keep forgetting about the man she was married to?

* * *

Arriving in Britain made her feel so much more vulnerable again. The disguises had taken days to prepare and Valerie had revealed a vain side of her, claiming that she did not want to look 'ugly'. It had taken a lot of cajoling (and serious threatening from Bellatrix) to convince her that avoiding suspicion and attention were more important than looking good. She had agreed to change her appearance to a pleasantly plain woman in her early thirties. Bellatrix thought hard about the most boring looking woman she had ever seen and adopted the look of a slightly plump, middle aged woman with brown hair. Regulus had gone all out and looked like a healthy middle aged man with grey hair and large thick glasses.

It was late afternoon when the trio arrived at Diagon Alley. Valerie looked aware of the palpable tension in the air. Few people were on the streets and they all seemed intent to keep their heads down and finish their business as quickly as possible.

"Where are we going?" Valerie asked in a low voice.

"Knockturn Alley," Regulus answered. "One of my contacts has says he has information."

Bellatrix glanced fervently around them, making sure there was no one in close enough in the vicinity to overhear their conversation. A harassed looking couple with a small girl walked by and she waited until they were a good distance away.

"About them?" she whispered.

'Them' referred to the Dark Lord's cronies that they were here to follow.

The affirmative nod from Regulus set her pulse racing with excitement.

It wasn't until they entered Knockturn Alley when they realized just how out place they would have looked, had they seen anyone there.

For a good few minutes, they came across no one and that alone was starting to make her slightly nervous. Valerie was visibly uneasy, her eyes shifting nervously and her movements unnaturally stiff.

"Relax," Bellatrix hissed.

Without warning, a small and dirty cat jumped from between a narrow alleyway, making Valerie jump and Bellatrix curse under her breath.

"Calm down," Regulus urged.

They continued until they came to a depilated building with a closed door. It looked like a bar and once upon a time, had displayed a sign with its name. The ornately written letters had faded and the words were no longer decipherable.

The 'contact' must have been waiting for them because the heavy door creaked open and a figure covered in the shadows ushered them in.

"Hurry up," he muttered.

Valerie chose to walk behind Bellatrix as if she had been glued to her.

The small place was stuffy and reeked of smoke and alcohol. The only light was from a small and dust covered window that opened up to a narrow alleyway behind the building.

Rickety tables and chairs were placed all over and Regulus took one of them without invitation.

"So, what do you have?" he started.

The man took the seat opposite him, leaving the two women with no choice but to sit on either sides of him.

"Gold first," he growled.

Bellatrix inspected the man with hard eyes.

He had wild unkempt hair that reached his shoulders. At least three teeth were missing and the remaining were stained a dark yellow that matched his sallow and wrinkled face. The face was dominated by bushy eyebrow that almost fell over small eyes that were narrowed at Regulus who threw a small pouch onto the table.

"What's your name?" Valerie blurted out.

The man weighed the small fortune lying on the table and hastily stuffed it inside his worn out robes and glaring at her.

"None of your business. Did I ask your name?"

Valerie cowered.

"Well?" Regulus leaned forward.

"Saw the Carrows in Borgin and Burke's two days ago. Pair was buying ward detectors." He bent his head conspiratorially. "Didn't hear much but bloody sure I heard them mention West Country and Morayshire."

West Country. West Country. Bellatrix frowned.

Godric's Hollow!

It took all her effort to contain the gleeful smile.

The Potters were hiding there.

She frowned. Morayshire. Did the Longbottoms own a place there? She couldn't recall any shred of memory that indicated as such.

A pregnant pause ensued and their informant stared at them expectantly.

Bellatrix gave an imperceptible nod to her cousin.

"That is useful." Regulus smiled thinly, eyes lit up with triumph. "Here," he produced another bulging pouch.

The man snatched it greedily. "Now get out."

They did.

* * *

The Dark Lord knew without a doubt the exact places where the two families were hiding.

Which was still a lot more than what they knew.

"So why hasn't he attacked yet?" Valerie frowned.

"Probably waiting for the right moment," Regulus murmured. "And he's probably still sorting out the damage from failed attack on the Ministry last week," he pointed to the Daily Prophet lying nearby.

Bellatrix meanwhile inspected the damp and cramped room that they had taken residence in.

And she had thought Valerie's cottage was small.

"What do you think, Bella?" Regulus broke her thoughts.

"I think we should split up," she wrinkled her nose at the moth covered sofa and abandoned it in favor of the cold but moth free floor.

She folded her arms. "I'll take Morayshire."

"I won't let you go alone," Regulus said firmly.

"I can and I will," she retorted.

The smoldering glare had the them both convinced.

Valerie cupped her face, rocking back and forth next to Regulus. "Have any of you thought about how we will continuously stand watch? You-Know-Who might wait for days, even weeks."

Bellatrix half shut her eyes. "He won't. He likes to move fast," her eyes shot open. "Unless... Reggie, what day is tomorrow?"

"Halloween," he answered promptly. "Makes me wish I was at Hogwarts," he muttered under his breath.

"Samhain," Bellatrix breathed, her heart fluttering with excitement. "It's Samhain, that's why the Dark Lord is waiting. That's the night when the wall between the dead and living is thinnest, that's when you can communicate with the dead. A lot of Dark Magic to do with life and death don't work unless they're done on Samhain. Knowing the Dark Lord, he wouldn't just kill something the prophesized child. He probably has something planned."

Valerie's mouth was forming a perfect O in surprise.

"I think we should warn Dumbledore," Regulus said.

Bellatrix glared at him. "None of us can produce a Patronus and letters can be intercepted. How do you propose to contact the idiot and pass him the information without being noticed by the Order, the Aurors and the Death Eaters, all before tomorrow night?"

She right, and she knew it.

"So tomorrow night?" Regulus asked weakly.

"Tomorrow night," Bellatrix grinned almost maniacally.

The last time, the Carrows had caught up with her after she had fought off a dozen Aurors and bringing in Greyback in his werewolf form was just unfair.

"I can't wait to meet the Carrows again," she added in a singsong voice.

* * *

Morayshire turned out to be a small town with a few rows of neatly lined houses. Muggle brats played noisily on the clean streets and she occasionally spotted a few of those metal boxes that muggles used instead of apparition. She sneered. Stupid muggles.

Bellatrix walked away from the center of the town, aware that magical houses were usually placed far away.

She reached the outskirts of the town, the muggle houses now a pretty picture of small white blocks placed in a green carpet in the distance. After checking to make sure that the concealment charm was still in place - one could never be too careful around muggles - she took out her wand, probing into the air for traces of wards.

Behind her, the sun was still a few good hours away from disappearing into the night and she was hoping that her search would be over before it did so.

* * *

Regulus kicked a pebble as they waited anxiously.

They were standing behind a half crumbled wall, facing a run-down house that they had confirmed to be empty. They were left with no choice but to brave being outside. The house did not have any windows or opening that would allow them to keep a watch over their interest here, a spot about thirty yards away that he was sure where Godric Hollow was located. All they could see there was now an empty plot.

Valerie was loudly guessing the wards that had probably been used on the place.

"We can't even see the bloody place," he complained again.

His companion bit her nails, a sign that she was in deep thought.

"Fidelius Charm," she murmured.

"What?"

She looked at him in the eyes. "I think that they are using the Fidelius Charm."

Regulus raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

"You-Know-Who didn't know about the hiding place until a few days ago. How did he know?"

"Because Pettigrew told him," he said. "He admitted as much."

"Right. So this man, Pettigrew is friends with these Potters and he's working for You-Know-Who. But he didn't know about the place before. He found out because the secret keeper told him, "Valerie swallowed.

"Too simple," she said flatly.

"What do you mean?"

She peered over the wall again and sat back down.

"I mean, I could have done a better job of hiding them. You said that almost every pureblood family knows about this place."

"It's historically significant."

"And the Secret Keeper-"

"That's probably Sirius," he interrupted. "He's best friends with Potter. So Sirius told Pettigrew and he told You-Know-Who."

She frowned. "The Fidelius Charm doesn't work like that. The Secret Keeper is the one who can reveal the location. So they made Pettigrew the Secret Keeper," she twirled a fine strand of jet blackhair. "This Pettigrew. What is he like? He is a friend of your brother, right?"

"He's not very bright and always hid behind Sirius and Potter," Regulus was reeling at the thought of Pettigrew as a Secret Keeper. If it were him in Potters' place, he would have taken Filch over Pettigrew.

Didn't these people have any sense of self-preservation?

"I still have no idea how he got into Gryffindor. You're supposed to be brave to be sorted into that house."

She shrugged and twirled her wand restlessly. "Are we going to fight when he comes?"

He laughed shakily, shaking his head. "We'll do like Bella said. If it's just Death Eaters, we'll fight. If it's the Dark Lord..." his voice trailed away.

She placed a pale hand on his shoulder. "If this baby dies, you'll be bowing to an insane man for the rest of your life."

"The Dark Lord probably won't come here. Only one of them can be the prophesized child. Lily Potter is a muggleborn so Potter Junior is a halfblood. Frank and Alice are both purebloods. The Dark Lord would think that the pureblood child will be stronger. I think that's what Bella is assuming too."

"It's too bad we don't know for sure which baby is the Chosen One," she said.

"Yeah."

"And your cousin is scary," Valerie added.

"Bella is...powerful. She was among the Dark Lord's most favored followers. And she's used to getting things done her way. This whole thing, it's not easy for her. She just doesn't show it."

"I see," she replied. There was a hint of sympathy and understanding lined in the words.

They lapsed into silence.

* * *

Her wand hummed as it detected the traces of wards around the patch of overgrown trees. Behind the trees was a frenzy of overgrown grass and the small clearing about ten yards ahead was conspicuously empty. Sweeping the area with a quick glance, she moved in a wide circle, cautious to avoid triggering the defensive layers.

It was about time too; the sun had already set and the moon hanging in a cloudless sky served to illuminate the place in a milky white glow.

Now to find a safe hiding spot nearby. She was not going to waste valuable magical energy taking down the wards. That would be a job for the idiots Carrows.

Now all she had to do was wait and fervently hope that the Dark Lord did not turn up.

* * *

Time was agonizingly slow when you were anticipating something as Bellatrix was finding out under an overgrown hedge. Thin branches from the hedge she was lying under bristled against her robes as she tried to move into a more comfortable position, all the while keeping an eye on the clearing.

The weak wards she had put up to detect people triggered and she froze, watching for movement.

Twenty yards away, two figures darted into view and she twirled her wand.

The Carrows.

She pressed her lips at the crowd that followed.

That one there was Lucius. She would recognize that arrogant saunter anywhere.

Crabbe and Goyle followed with another figure she couldn't recognize.

She watched as they struggled with whatever that they had bought at Borgin and Burke's, the Carrows and the unidentified man arguing while Lucius hung back with his goons.

The wards broke down and all hell broke loose as the small house appeared.

Pure, unadulterated adrenaline surged inside and for first time in a long time, she felt invigorated. Right now, she was in her element with the feeling of blood roaring in her ears and her heart thumping while she danced between the fine line of life and death. It made her feel so _alive_.

Lucius had thrown a blasting hex at the door and it bounced back weakly. Undeterred, he switched the spell and in less than twenty seconds, the door was blown off its hinges.

They poured inside, throwing hexes left and eight while the inhabitants of the house moved to repel the attackers.

She moved behind, keeping a safe distance. Someone was taking cover behind the windows and must have spotted her; she barely managed to dodge the bone shattering spell that was thrown.

Two long strides and she flew through the front door, heightened senses taking in the chaos.

Augusta Longbottom was the one who had thrown the hex at her, she was using the corner as a base and dueling with Alecto , Lucius and Crabbe at once. One of the kitchen cupboards had exploded, spilling pots and pans that Augusta was directly towards her opponents.

Amidst the noise she registered a wail of an infant from upstairs.

The child!

She could not remember a staircase taking this long to climb before, it felt as if all time had exhausted before she reached the hallway.

The place was a myriad of smoke and yells; the woman who was screaming spell after spell must have been Alice Longbottom. She aimed at the man who must have been new, the amplified stunning spell hitting him point blank in his back.

This was going to be a night without the use of Unforgivables. Aurors or even worse, Dumbledore could swoop on any moment and she wanted to leave a clean trail. But if the Dark Lord decided to join in, well, the Ministry could rub her boots with forbidden spells.

Crabbe was standing near the open door his wand out and hovering in the air as if he was unsure what to do next.

Alice Longbottom screamed and she realized that Amycus was torturing her.

Crabbe hadn't turned around, blissfully unaware that he had an enemy in midst and and he lifted his wand, aiming at something or someone inside the room.

Fear seeped in and she realized that in a long time since she had turned away from the Dark Lord, she was afraid.

If that child was the prophesized one and if he was killed, it was all over.

_"Confringo!"_

His head turned slightly, mouth parted and eyes flickering with surprised that a familiar voice screaming the same spell that he had uttered and shock registered for the briefest moment before he slammed into wall behind, body slumping as he was knocked into unconsciousness.

Alice Longbottom's voice stopped and she wondered if Amycus was going to finish it once and for all.

_"Crucio!"_

Apparently not.

The ear splitting shriek was a good sign, if Amycus was busy torturing her, the child was safe for now.

Bellatrix reached the door.

This was obviously the nursery.

Crabbe had hit the crib, it was a now a rubble of white painted wood and the child was sprawled on the floor, a splinter wedged into his neck, the wound was bleeding profusely. He was crying, the sound inaudible above the voice of his mother whose body was arching and convulsing almost unnaturally as she bore the excruciating pain.

Amycus stopped, raising his head at the intrusion, freezing for a moment as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Well, well, if it isn't the little traitor," he whispered.

On the floor, Alice Longbottom was shuddering and struggling to get back up. Not that it would do much good, her wand was nowhere in sight.

"Come to save the blood traitors, have you?" he taunted.

She didn't like it when people taunted her.

_"Sectumsempra!"_

The deep gashes spurted with blood and he staggered back, face contorting with fury.

_"Avada-"_

He never got the chance to finish the words. Alice Longbottom launched herself at him, knocking him off balance. They wrestled for a moment, the blonde feebly clawing at his face as the sturdier man snarled, elbowing the petite woman in the stomach. He rolled over, keeping his eye on Bellatrix, fumbling for his wand that he had lost of hold of.

She darted to the right, dropping on to her knees and she would wonder for years to come why she had bothered grabbing the unmoving woman by her ankles and yanking her out of the general way before she darted a few steps to the left and cast the spell.

_"Expulso!"_

The fiery red ball slammed into him just as he had picked up his wand, the force throwing him back against the baby blue wall and she vaguely wondered if she had broken his ribs.

She realized that the remnants of the spell had hit the woman as well, she had been knocked back into the opposite side, and she continued to lie there eyes shut and too still.

She didn't check for a pulse, she didn't really care, the child was more important.

The Dark Lord never appeared but the Order did and that was how Arthur Weasley, Frank Longbottom and Mad Eye Moody found the house.

Augusta Longbottom was dead, along with Alecto. Upstairs, they found her, half bloodied and cradling Neville Longbottom in her eyes with two unconscious bodies on either side of her.

* * *

They had eaten chocolate frogs and drank water for dinner, softy talked about everything and nothing but two o'clock into the night and none of the Death Eaters had turned up. Regulus was panicking inside. What if the Dark Lord had decided to attack the Longbottoms with the Death Eaters in tow? Bella could get caught and she would be so dead.

Next to him, Valerie was oblivious to his concern for his cousin and fighting sleep, her eyes fluttering as she struggled to stay awake.

"Your Dark Lord is an annoying piece of shit," she murmured.

He opened his mouth to answer when the Dark Mark tingled. Slowly, ever so carefully, he peered over the wall and for a moment, he felt as if someone had dumped a bucketful of ice cold water over him.

Over there, strolling leisurely towards the empty plot was the Dark Lord. And he was alone.

All hopes shattered, he slumped back, eyes wide with fear.

Valerie looked completely awake now. "They're here?" she whispered.

He shook his head numbly. "He's here."

She placed a hand over her mouth.

What was he supposed to do now? The Potters would die; there would be no other ending for them.

And to think that they had got this far only to be bested again.

The wards were down in an instant, they could feel the tremors all the way from there and Valerie was sobbing quietly, acutely aware that three lives were going to be lost soon and there was nothing they could do about it.

A man - James Potter, yelled in the distance and Regulus could hear his wife screaming.

Heart hammering and palms rapidly dampening, he rose up on his knees.

The house was in view and the upstairs, the bedroom facing their direction was well lit.

Lily Potter shrieked again, a gut wrenching sound and Regulus had a sinking feeling that his brother's best friend was now dead.

Valerie was gripping his hand, tears streaking down her face.

Less than thirty seconds later, they caught a flash of Lily Potter running across the room. She was talking - no, she would be begging - and the unmistakable high pitched laugh that floated through drenched them with terror.

They watched as the all telling flash of bright green light glowed inside the room. The Dark Lord came into view and Regulus was suddenly filled with a loathing so strong, he could almost taste it.

The Dark Lord raised his wand again and they watched as the jet green light erupted almost slowly.

The room exploded with magic.

Regulus yelped as his Dark Mark burnt.

They looked up to see that the Dark Lord was no longer there.

And they could hear a child wailing.

* * *

A/N: This was just a silly idea I couldn't get out of my head. Not very well written but reviews are always appreciated :)


End file.
